Water closet ventilating unit



Aug. 15, 1967 c. E. COATES 3,335,431

WATER CLOSET VENTILATING UNIT Filed July 15, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/Gi/ 7 TORNE) 1967 c. E. COATES 3,335,433

WATER CLOSET VENTILATING UNIT Filed July 15, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2;

l/VVE/VTOR (Hg/R455 E CO/ITES United States Patent 3,335,431 WATER CLOSET VENTILATING UNIT Charles E. Coatcs, Trevose, Pa., assignor of fifty percent to Walter A. Gay, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa. Filed July 15, 1965, Ser. No. 472,083 3 Claims. (Cl. 4-213) This invention relates generally to ventilating constructions for toilet bowls and more particularly to an air ventilating manifold which is adapted for installation upon existing toilet bowls for use in conjunction with a water closet ventilating unit such as is shown, for example, in my pending application, Ser. No. 351,028, filed Mar. 11, 1964.

In my pending application, the ventilating unit therein disclosed communicates with the interior of the toilet bowl by way of flexible air intake conduit connected to an air intake fitting which fits over a side edge of the toilet bowl and is provided with an open-ended intake leg extending downward along the inside surface of the bowl to provide free communication between the interior of the bowl and the ventilating unit per se mounted externally of the toilet bowl.

It is among the principal objects of the present invention to provide an improved construction of the abovernentioned air intake fitting whereby the same may be readily mounted in operative position upon conventional toilet bowls without necessitating any material structural changes therein or in the water closet unit as a whole.

A further object of the invention is to provide an air intake fitting of the character described which is adapted to be mounted and retained in fixed position upon the toilet bowl by the same means conventionally employed for hingedly mounting the toilet seat upon the bowl and which fits between the rear top portion of the bowl and the overlying rear portion of the hinged toilet seat assembly.

Still another object is to provide an air intake fitting in the nature of a manifold which provides for maximum intake of noxious odors from the interior of the bowl and most efiicient venting thereof to the sewer line through the air ventilating unit to which the intake fitting is connected.

A still further object is to provide an air intake fitting which is provided with an air intake port of considerable size and yet is of such fiat, compact form that when mounted in position upon the toilet bowl it is not only quite inconspicuous and unobtrusive and does not interfere in any way with the normal raising and lowering of the toilet seat, but also is so disposed that none of its parts are reached by the highest level of water which rises in the toilet bowl when it is flushed.

Yet another object is to provide an air intake fitting of the character described which self-contains the switch for electrically controlling operation of the ventilating unit automatically as the toilet bowl seat is raised and lowered, and which also provides convenient and readily accessible means for Operatively connecting the fitting to the ventilating unit for withdrawal of noxious odors from the toilet bowl and discharge thereof to the sewer line.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, such as those relating to economies of manufacture and installation, will be apparent more fully herein-after, it being understood that the present invention consists substantially-in the combination, construction, location and relative arrangement of parts, all as described in the following specification, as shown in the accompanying drawings and as finally pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan of a toilet bowl thereof broken away to show the air present invention mounted upon the with parts intake fitting of the bowl;

3,3354% Patented Aug. 15, 1967 FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view as taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1 of the toilet ventilating unit in association with a toilet bowl having mounted thereon the air intake fitting of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view as taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view on an enlarged scale as taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the air intake fitting of the present invention, with portions thereof shown broken away and the switch for the ventilating unit shown removed from the fitting.

Referring now to the drawings and first more particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2, it will be observed that the air intake fitting of the present invention, designated generally by the reference numeral 10, is incorporated in a toilet bowl unit 11 having the usual catch basin 12 of downwardly convergent form connected at its lower end to the usual waste pipe 13. As in conventional construction of toilet bowls, flushing water is applied thereto from a tank 14 which delivers the water into a chamber 15 formed in the rear portion of the toilet bowl unit, which flushing water flows from said chamber downwardly over the toilet bowl basin rear wall as well as into a manifold 16 formed in the upper rim of the bowl for delivery of the flushing water downward over the surface of the basin.

Operatively associated with the toilet bowl is a ventilating unit 17 ofthe construction shown and described in my aforesaid pending application Ser. No. 351,028, which unit generally comprises a housing 18 which is provided with an air inlet 19 connected by way of a flexible conduit 20 to the air intake fitting 10 and with an air outlet 21 connected by way of a conduit 22 to the toilet bowl discharge passage 23, the latter in turn being connected to the sewer or waste pipe 13. The ventilating unit 17 contains within the housing 18 an electric motor-operated fan 24 which is operative to draw air from the toilet bowl basin through the air intake fitting 10 and the conduit 19 into the fan housing 18 for passage therethrough and discharge from its lower end into the sewer pipe. The ventilating unit 17 as described in my pending application hereinbefore mentioned includes, in association with the air exhausting fan 24, electrically energizable means operable to automatically seal the ventilating unit 17 against the backflow passage therethrough of seWer gas when the toilet seat is in its normal unoccupied position. Both the fan that it may be employed in conjunction with ventilating units of difierent design and construction but which basically provide for withdrawal of noxious odors from the toilet bowl by way of conduit means connected between the air intake fitting and the sewer pipe.

The air intake fitting 10 of the present invention is in the form of a flat, relatively thin C-shaped unit having vertically spaced top and bottom walls 26 and 27 having their marginal edges connected together along the rear and opposite side portions thereof to provide an air plenum 28 which is sealed to atmosphere except for an air entrance slot 29 extending along the arcuately shaped frontal edge 30 of the unit.

The general shape of the unit when viewed in plan corresponds to the shape of the planar rear portion of the toilet bowl which normally extends forwardly of the water tank 14 and serves as a mounting platform for the seat assembly, so that when the fitting is mounted upon the toilet bowl as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the sealed rear edge 31 of the unit abuts or underlies the front wall of the water tank while the sealed side edges 32-32. thereof are respectively disposed substantially in coincidence with the marginal edges of the toilet bowl rim. The arcuate curvature of the louvered frontal edge of the unit generally conforms to that of the rear portion of the toilet bowl rim, the louvered edge which defines the air entrance slot'29 being preferably downturned somewhat as shown so that said slot presents toward and thereby most effectively communicates with the interior of the toilet bowl along substantially the full length of its arcuately shaped rear portion. It will be noted that the front edge portions 3333 of the air intake unit which respectively extend laterally to either side of the slotted frontal edge thereof and overlie the rim of the toilet bowl are each closed off in the same fashion as are the rear and opposite side edges of the unit.

Formed as an integral part of the air intake fitting 10 adjacent either one of its rear corners is a depending air flue 34 having free communication with the plenum 28. The depending air flue is provided at its bottom end with a hollow cylindrical head 35 terminating in a freely extending tubular part 36 open at its outer end. When the air intake fitting is mounted in position upon the toilet how], this tubular part 36 is disposed closely adjacent to one side of the toilet bowl at a level below the rim of the bowl and its open free end is thus adapted to readily receive the outer end of the flexible conduit 20 leading to the inlet end of the ventilating unit 17.

As most clearly appears in FIGURES 3 and 5, the air intake fitting 10 is preferably designed to be mounted in position upon the toilet bowl between the bowl itself and its hingedly mounted seat assembly, which latter conventionally includes the seat 37 and cover member 38 hinged together by conventional hinge sets 3939 having mounting studs 40 and nuts 41 for securing the seat assembly to the bowl. To this end, the air intake fitting 10 is provided with a pair of laterally spaced sockets 4242, the bottoms of which lie in the plane of the bottom wall 27 of the fitting 10 and are each centrally apertured, as at 43, to provide holes through the fitting for registry with the seat-mounting holes normally provided in the toilet bowl seat mounting platform. These sockets 4242, which are each sealed from the interior plenum 28 of the air intake unit, are of sufficient size to respectively accommodate therein the usual flanges or collars 44 integrally formed on the seat-mounting studs 40, which latter extend through the registering holes in the air intake fitting 10 and the toilet bowl to secure the fitting in place between the toilet bowl and its seat assembly as shown in FIGURE 3 and 4.

Suitably mounted upon the air intake fitting 10 between its top and bottom walls 26-27, preferably just inside and at the center of its curved air entrance slot 29, is the micro-switch 25 having a spring-pressed actuating button 45. This button actuated micro-switch is electrically connected in circuit with the motor for operating the fan 24 of the ventilating unit and with the electrically energizable means for controlling operation of the seal in said unit for preventing back-flow of sewer gases therethrough when it is not in use. The electrical conductors 46 which lead from the micro-switch 25 to the fan motor and other electrical components of the ventilating unit may be conveniently threaded through the hollow interiors of the air intake fitting and the conduit extending between it and the ventilating unit, as shown by the broken lines in FIGURES l and 5.

The air-intake fitting is provided at its forward extremities with a pair of laterally spaced buttons 4747 which are respectively normally biased upwardly through the top wall of the fitting by coiled compression springs 4848. These spring-pressed buttons 47-47 are so located as to be engaged by opposite side portions of the seat 37 when the latter is in its lowered position as shown in FIGURES 2 and 4 and resiliently hold the seat in its upwardly inclined position as shown in which unoccupied condition of the seat its bowl-engaging rubber bumpers 49 on the front portion of the seat are spaced slightly above the top edge or rim of the toilet bowl.

Preferably, the air-intake fitting is formed of material which permits the curved frontal edge portion of the upper panel 26 thereof to flex relatively to its lower panel 27 so that when a downward force is applied to the upper panel 26 in the region thereof immediately above the contact switch 25, the switch button is actuated to render operative the ventilator unit 17. To this end, the microswitch 25, with its spring-pressed actuating button 45 is of an overall depth adapting it to be fitted snugly between the top and bottom wall panels of the air intake fitting so that in the unflexed condition of the panel 26 it engages but does not depress the switch button 45, the switch mounting being such that it remains open so long as no downward deflecting force or load is applied to the upper panel 26 of the fitting and the seat is not depressed below its full line position shown in FIG- URES 2 and 4.

In order to exert the requisite downward force upon the upper panel 26 of the fitting for actuation of the switch 25 when the seat is depressed into its dotted line position shown in FIGURE 2, as when the seat is occupied by a person using the toilet, the upper panel of the fitting is provided with a boss into which stud 50 is suitably threaded in vertical axial alinement with the switch actuating button 45. This stud 50 is provided with a headed extremity 51 which is in engagement with the bottom of the seat 37, it being apparent that when the seat is fully depressed it will bear down upon the stud 50 and through the latter cause the upper panel 26 of the fitting to be downwardly deflected to an extent sufficient to depress the switch button 45 and so actuate the switch 25. If desired, the threaded shank of the stud 50 may project downwardly through the fitting top wall 26 sufficiently to itself just engage the switch button when the seat is in its full line raised position shown in FIG- URES 2 and 4 so that when the seat is fully depressed against the bias of the spring-pressed buttons 4747, the lower end of the stud 50, upon downward deflection of the fitting wall in which it is mounted, acts to depress the switch button 45 to thereby establish the operating circuit to the ventilating unit. The stud 50, by virtue of its threaded connection with the fitting, may be axially adjusted in the fitting to obtain the desired operation of the micro-switch through downward movement of the toilet seat 37 and corresponding downward deflection of the panel 26, the switch being thereby activated when the seat is depressed into its lowermost position and deactivated when the seat is raised under the influence of the spring-pressed buttons 4747.

In order to assist in and insure return of the top panel 26 of the fitting to its normal unflexed condition and so effect deactivation of the switch 25 when the toilet seat is raised by the spring-pressed buttons 4747, the switch 25 preferably rests in a saddle 52 suitably fixed to the bottom panel 27 of the fitting and extending transversely across the bottom of the switch. This saddle 52 is provided at each of its opposite ends with a vertically extending tab 53 (which may be struck out of the flat body portion of the saddle), each of which tabs serves as a supporting post for an embracing coiled compression spring 54 having its opposite ends bearing, respectively, against the flat body portion of the saddle and the top panel 26 of the air intake fitting. It will be apparent that these springs 55-55 compress upon downward deflection of the panel 26 under the deflecting force exerted by the fully depressed toilet seat and upon release of such deflecting force act in concert with the inherent bias of the panel 26 to return to its flat unflexed condition by pressing said panel upwardly and away from its bottom panel, thereby insuring opening of the switch 25 as the toilet seat moves into its raised position.

It will be observed that with the unit mounted as shown in FIGURES 1 to 4, when the toilet seat is not in use, the spring-pressed buttons 47-47 act to lift the front portion of the seat upwardly relatively to the toilet bowl and so permits the spring-pressed button 45 of the microswitch 25 to rise and thus open the switch contacts to not only render the fan of the ventilating unit inoperative to draw air therethrough but also to simultaneously effect closure of the seal in the ventilating unit against undesired back-flow of sewer gas. When, however, the toilet seat 37 is depressed against the upward bias of the spring-pressed buttons 47-47, as when the seat is weighed down by an occupant thereof, the seat engages and depresses the actuating button 45 of the micro-switch to thereby close its contacts for the supply of current to the ventilating unit for operation thereof.

It will be appreciated that the air intake fitting of the present invention may be formed of any suitable material, such as metal or plastic, and may be molded as an integral unit or fabricated as an assembly of stampings suitably joined together to provide the requisite air and water-tight plenum 28, with its arcuately shaped air entrance slot 29.

Thus, it will be understood that the present invention is susceptible of various changes and modifications which may be made from time to time without departing from the real spirit or general principles of the invention and that it is accordingly intended to claim the same broadly as well as specifically as indicated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. An air intake fitting of the character described adapted for disposition between the seat and the rear mounting platform of a conventional toilet bowl upon which the toilet seat is hinged comprising a substantially flat body member having closely spaced top and bottom walls disposed in parallel relation with the corresponding opposite side and rear edges of said walls joined together to provide said member with a hollow interior, the corresponding frontal edges of said walls being spaced apart to provide an elongated arcuately shaped slot along the front edge of said hollow member for entrance of air into the interior thereof, said top wall being flexible relatively to the bottom wall in the region of said air entrance slot, a button-actuated switch normally biased into open condition located internally of said fitting in the region of its flexible top wall portion, axially adjustable means projecting upwardly from said flexible top wall portion of the fitting in vertical registry with said switch and engageable by said toilet seat for deflecting said flexible wall portion downwardly to close said switch when the seat is depressed, said adjustable means being accessible externally of the fixture for axial adjustment thereof, spring-pressed means projecting upwardly through the top wall of said fitting at opposite sides thereof operative normally to bias the toilet seat upwardly about its hinging axis and thereby relieve the flexible wall portion of the fitting from switch-closing downwardly deflecting pressure, and a saddle secured to the bottom wall of said fixture for mounting said switch substantially at the midpoint of said arcuately shaped frontal slot of the fitting, said saddle including spring means for resiliently biasing said flexible top wall portion of the fitting upwardly and out of engagement with said switch when the toilet seat is in its raised position.

2. An air intake fitting as defined in claim 1 wherein said fitting is of a geometrical form in its planar outline corresponding substantially with the outline of the platform portion of a toilet bowl upon which the toilet bowl seat assembly is hingedly mounted, said elongated slot is of an arcuate shape substantially coincident and coextensive in length with said curved rear portion of the toilet bowl rim, and said frontal edges are turned downwardly about the rim of the toilet bowl whereby the mouth of the slot presents downwardly toward the surface level of the flushing water contained in the toilet bowl basin.

3. An air intake fitting as defined in claim 1 characterized by the provision of a pair of laterally spaced apertured sockets sealed from the interior of said fitting for projection therethrough and accommodation therein of conventional toilet seat hinging bolts for fixed securement of the fitting upon said seat-mounting platform at the rear of the toilet bowl.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,861,501 6/1932 Lowther 4-213 2,009,054 7/1935 Mooney 4-213 2,017,590 10/1935 Duffner 4-213 2,134,629 10/1938 Walsh et al 4-213 2,190,068 2/1940 Henschler 4-213 2,619,655 12/1952 Hufi" 4-213 2,685,094 8/1954 MacAillo 4-216 3,066,317 12/1962 CaWiezel 4-21'3 3,120,665 2/1964 Kirkland 4-213 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner. H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner, 

1. AN AIR INTAKE FITTING OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED ADAPTED TO DISPOSITION BETWEEN THE SEAT AND THE REAR MOUNTING PLATFORM OF A CONVENTIONAL TOILET BOWL UPON WHICH THE TOILET SEAT IS HINGED COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BODY MEMBER HAVING CLOSELY SPACED TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS DISPOSED IN PARALLEL RELATION WITH THE CORRESPONDING OPPOSITE SIDE AND REAR EDGES OF SAID WALLS JOINED TOGETHER TO PROVIDE SAID MEMBER WITH A HOLLOW INTERIOR, THE CORRESPONDING FRONTAL EDGES OF SAID WALLS BEING SPACED APART TO PROVIDE AN ELONGATED ARCUATELY SHAPED SLOT ALONG THE FRONT EDGE OF SAID HOLLOW MEMBER FOR ENTRANCE OF AIR INTO THE INTERIOR THEREOF, SAID TOP WALL BEING FLEXIBLE RELATIVELY TO THE BOTTOM WALL IN THE REGION OF SAID AIR ENTRANCE SLOT, A BUTTOM-ACTUATED WITCH NORMALLY BIASED INTO OPEN CONDITION LOCATED INTERNALLY OF SAID FITTING IN THE REGION OF ITS FLEXIBLE TOP WALL PORTION, AXIALLY ADJUSTABLE MEANS PROJECTING UPWARDLY FROM SAID FLEXIBLE TOP WALL PORTION OF THE FITTING IN VERTICAL REGISTRY WITH SAID SWITCH AND ENGAGEABLE BY SAID TOILET SEAT FOR DEFLECTING SAID FLEXIBLE WALL PORTION DOWNWARDLY TO CLOSE SAID SWITCH WHEN THE SEAT IS DEPRESSED, SAID ADJUSTABLE MEANS BEING ACCESSIBLE EXTERNALLY OF THE FIXTURE FOR AXIAL ADJUSTMENT THEREOF, SPRING-PRESSED MEANS PROJECTING UPWARDLY THROUGH THE TOP WALL OF SAID FITTING AT OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF OPERATIVE NORMALLY TO BIAS THE TOILET SEAT UPWARDLY 